Chapter 17 - Chapter 17: Relentless Tide

​The axe reached a point close to Hintoydi, who, during these seconds, placed his arm in front of the axe until the arm collided with it. Gwankai pulled his axe away, leaving a wide scratch on Hintoydi's skin, and raised it high again to direct it once more toward Hintoydi's face. The latter placed his right arm to block it, and thus the movements of the axe's attack and the arm's block became so fast that neither of them appeared, both moving simultaneously from one place to another. Gwankai decided to remove his left hand from the axe so that his right hand alone could control it, making it return behind him; then he brought it lunging forward, directing it at the lower part of Hintoydi's body, specifically toward his left leg. Hintoydi lowered his eyes to where the axe was heading and jumped, allowing the axe itself to pass through the empty water Hintoydi left after his jump. He was about to pass over Gwankai with his jump until the latter gathered the fingers of his left hand, forming a fist, raised it above him, and jumped as well until the punch landed on Hintoydi's face. As a result of the blow, he actually fell behind Gwankai onto his face, rubbing against the ground. Not seconds passed before Hintoydi raised his hands while fallen and pressed them against the ground to lift himself and his face, which had rubbed against the sand; blood emerged from his mouth, and his eyes, which widened, showed some veins—a sign of his anger. Hintoydi completed his rise from the ground with a jump, pressing on his hands and rising slightly until his posture straightened. Gwankai stood with his back to him, letting his axe hang over his shoulder until he turned toward him, cold and sharp gazes emitting from his eyes. Hintoydi's eyes overflowed with anger as more veins appeared inside them; veins also appeared on his arms, which were covered by muscles resembling rocky masses. From his mouth fell drops of blood that did not reach the sand of the ground, taken by the water's movements before reaching the grains of sand. Hintoydi's hands gathered their fingers, forming two fists with squeezing fingers. [ Hintoydi ]: This place will be destroyed, including its cave. We planned previously for you to be buried under the wreckage of the earth and for your perishing to be here, not for you to exhaust us and bury us with you. ​Gwankai lowered his axe from his shoulder, making it stand vertically with his hand resting on it. [ Gwankai ]: It was not us who first asked to cause the destructive danger to your area. You are the ones who wanted to bring trouble to yourselves and to us... Do not speak as if our death here is a necessary and inevitable matter; our work here is to pay people like you the price for every sin you commit. Do you understand, you turtle? ​The wideness of Hintoydi's eyes began to shrink, and their veins gradually disappeared. His feet advanced forward with slow steps, and his facial features changed from anger to extreme coldness. The flow of blood from his mouth disappeared until his feet brought him to the front of Gwankai, with only about half a meter separating them. [ Hintoydi ]: What I truly understood is that it seems I must not rely on the bomb and what it leaves behind, and that I and my brothers must separate your souls from your bodies ourselves..... We only erred by relying on a thing. ​Gwankai raised his axe from the ground, letting it hang over his left shoulder. [ Gwankai ]: Finally, one of you understood—which is you—that a mere bomb is not enough to get rid of us... Now, let us continue what we started. ​During this time, feet wearing black shoes and black pants—appearing to be from a formal suit—showed that Yoriki was running back from the eastern side of the place, specifically on the same line where both Gwankai and Hintoydi stood. During his run, Yoriki emitted inhalations and exhalations from his mouth, causing bubbles to form and lunge from his mouth. Within a minute, his feet slowed until he stopped running, continuing his advance by walking. [ Yoriki ]: Good.. I see that Gwankai has not been injured yet, given that I was late in returning from the submarine to here. ​He stopped his advance, standing in his place while watching Gwankai and Hintoydi, who had entered into an engagement where they returned again to the operations of attack with the axe and blocking with the arms. Then, the sound of an explosion shook the place; it came from the left cave, as its roof was the source of the explosion's sound along with the launch of rock projectiles scattered in the four directions and the rush of thick gray smoke. Yoriki moved his eyes toward the ceiling of the cave, which was ejecting rocks densely. One of the ejected rocks almost reached Yoriki, so the latter retreated a few steps behind him, then raised his hands until the rock—whose size equaled his own size—collided with his hands. He grabbed it and placed it beside his right side quickly, and began emitting slow breaths after carrying the rock, returning his gaze to his front. [ Yoriki ] to himself: It seems the end of the place is near, and I do not notice any of them ending his struggle.... The bomb will not spare anything standing before it. But even I, who realizes the impending danger, cannot escape.. and all I can do is be patient with each one of them. ​At Gwankai and Hintoydi's position, Hintoydi rose jumping, then directed his left foot, lunging toward Gwankai. The latter watched him, his axe hanging again on his shoulder, and his eyes turned to look at Yoriki. Seconds before Hintoydi's foot reached him, he bent his body, running forward. As for Hintoydi's foot that was lunging, it struck the ground, digging a hole that made both the sand and its fragments scatter above the water. Hintoydi adjusted his stance and tightened his fists, turning to where Gwankai headed. [ Hintoydi ]: I see that another rat has come, or rather, returned from where he was. [ Hintoydi ] to himself: No, I cannot currently deal with two in light of the catastrophe happening here.... If I become stubborn and decide to fight them both, it will end with me and my brothers being buried with them. ​At the same time, Gwankai reached Yoriki, his feet stopping in their place. Yoriki raised his eyes to him. [ Gwankai ]: Why did you return here? You should have stayed inside the submarine, especially in the presence of these explosions they caused; also, we do not want to exhaust you. [ Yoriki ]: When I went, I had originally planned to deliver every kidnap victim to safety and then return, because you would likely sustain some damage.. and it is amazing that you have not been harmed up to this moment, but physical safety, in any case, will not last..... Now, return to him; time is running out here. ​Gwankai turned his entire body toward the front of Hintoydi. [ Gwankai ]: Even if you planned to return, what is the secret of your delay inside the submarine? [ Yoriki ]: I was arranging the seating of each one of them and helped my clone in feeding them..... Generally, there is no time for questions like these, Gwankai; we are not at a party, rather I am—we are—about to become part of the wreckage. Please, I want each of you to finish what he must before time runs out completely. Go. ​Seconds passed until Gwankai launched, running toward Hintoydi, while the latter stood firmly in his place with his cold gazes. As for Gwankai, he returned his axe to be linked to his back. [ Gwankai ] to himself: It is time to end this. I will grab him by his hands, make him rotate above my head, and throw him into his cave to explode with it. ​In the same seconds, Hintoydi advanced a few steps. [ Hintoydi ] to himself: Come on, advance more, so I can return you from where you emerged to my cave. There, not only will the burning rocks cover you, but also your feathers will change their color from white to black until disappearing completely. ​He made his body tilt and extended his hand in front of him and the other behind him, taking a defensive stance. Gwankai advanced further toward him. Moments passed, and Gwankai's hands met Hintoydi's hands; Gwankai actually grabbed his arms, but Hintoydi steadied his feet, though they were being pulled slowly forward. Once, Gwankai's feet were pulled, each of them trying to lift the other, until Gwankai raised his foot and made it lunge at Hintoydi's face. The latter tilted and slipped under him, raising his legs, which became embedded in Gwankai's stomach, making him rise above him. In these seconds, Hintoydi grabbed his hand and threw him toward the cave. The latter landed himself on the ground while standing and did not waste a second, launching again, returning to Hintoydi, running fast and leaving a trail of bubbles behind him. The two collided once more. Hintoydi landed several punches to Gwankai's stomach until he made him retreat, placing his hand on his stomach. He returned lunging and collided with him a third time, and immediately directed his punches to Hintoydi's face. With every punch, blood emerged from his face until Gwankai grabbed his left hand, rotated him above him, then struck the ground with him, Hintoydi's head becoming jammed into its depths, and that was in front of Yoriki. Hintoydi's feet began to move while he was inverted, pressing his hands against the ground and bringing out his head; he jumped, adjusting his stance, traces of blood covering parts of his face. He, too, looked sharply at Gwankai. [ Hintoydi ]: Abandon your defense and die. [ Gwankai ]: And you too, without forgetting your brothers; abandon your corruption and leave. ​At Hintoydi's own cave, an explosion broke out, showing its fires and the rush of a smoke wave, shaking the area upon which it stood, making the view of the place like an entity trembling with intense fear, moving everything on the surface of its ground. Quantities of rocks were ejected and scattered as the smoke dispersed in several directions. Both Hintoydi's and Yoriki's eyes watched the scene; Gwankai also turned, watching the horrors of what was happening behind him. A minute passed, and the smoke's color became mixed with the water, showing that the cave had turned completely into a mountain of black rocks due to their burning, and silver ones. Then, the earth shook again with the occurrence of a wide, long crack that reached Hintoydi's feet; the crack emitted what was inside it of soil and small rocks with the issuance of a single explosion sound, announcing the beginning of the place's demolition. Gwankai returned his head toward Hintoydi. [ Hintoydi ]: Time has run out, and neither I nor you were able to end the other..... This means that unfortunately, I will be forced to leave you to save my skin, and in turn, you cannot pursue me, for you must save yourself as well.... But I promise you we will meet again, and I will do to you what I wished to happen with you now. ​Gwankai raised his axe with his left hand, directing it in front of Hintoydi. [ Gwankai ]: No. I am insistent, despite what is happening, on cutting off your head here, and all these explosions will not prevent me. ​Yoriki approached him, raising his head toward him. [ Yoriki ]: Listen to me, you. If you do, all our efforts will be wasted because the ground explosion will reach even the distance where the submarine is located, and then, and then, it will be destroyed with everything in it because of your stubbornness. Instead of this, we must all withdraw to protect every kidnap victim, especially the President's children who relied on us in this operation..... Lower your axe, and my clone will try to persuade the rest to withdraw. Please, stop the stubbornness. ​Gwankai lowered his axe, moving it away from Hintoydi's face, but the piercing gazes did not leave their faces. During that, and beneath their feet, the sound of a faint explosion roared under their legs, and suddenly the ground they stood upon exploded, emitting a quantity of smoke and ejecting shards of the earth's wreckage. It also ejected Gwankai, Yoriki, and Hintoydi; the explosion threw them upward, then each of them fell slowly to the ground, while simultaneously rubbing against it. Gwankai, whose back was toward the cave, fell near it, his head striking its rocks after the explosions turned it into a rocky mountain. He placed his hand on his head; a second later, he stood up quickly and immediately began running in the eastern direction. [ Gwankai ] to himself: If, for example, I had been stubborn and did not listen to Yoriki, the ground would have forced me to retreat..... Truly, the end has arrived; we must leave immediately. ​He reached the place where they had been standing, where the explosion had dug a hole from which thick gray smoke emerged, preventing sight of the opposite side. Gwankai's face turned right and left, and even above him. [ Gwankai ]: But first, where was Yoriki thrown..... I understood from his words that he is the real one and not a clone. ​Moments passed until Yoriki came from Gwankai's left side, running until he reached him. Gwankai's head turned toward him. [ Yoriki ] shouting: Come on! To the submarine immediately! The situation has become more dangerous. No more idiocies. Let us move. [ Gwankai ] shouting: But what about the others? Do you want us to leave them here? [ Yoriki ] shouting: My two clones will deal with them. Let us leave. Come on. ​Gwankai's body turned completely toward Yoriki until both of them ran forward and reversed their path to disappear among the rising smoke. At the corner of the left cave of the three caves—which had also been turned into a mountain of black and silver rocks—an explosion emerged from the ground, cracking the floor from which it issued and digging it, making the sand and wreckage rise high. The emission of smoke separated the mountain of cave rocks from the eastern side. At Yonsharin and Rintoydi's position—who did not appear, as both were running at a speed where their forms did not show—Yonsharin launched toward him and Rintoydi launched toward her until the latter jumped, bringing his limbs inside his armor and making himself rotate. During his rotation, he headed toward Yonsharin like a fan turned by the winds. Yonsharin also jumped, her cutting star held firmly in her right hand. At the point of meeting between Rintoydi's armor and Yonsharin, the latter extended her legs and pushed him to collide with the ground as if he were a falling meteor, leaving a hole. The latter showed all his limbs outside his armor. He stood in a fleeting moment to jump through the water, ascending to Yonsharin, who watched him beneath her with cold gazes and extended her left hand to Rintoydi, who was still ascending toward her. [ Yonsharin ] to herself: Lightning Ball Charge. ​A yellow lightning ball formed in her hand; then, she retreated a little and lunged beneath her toward Rintoydi. In the lenses of his eyes, the lightning charge was reflected. During that, he too extended his hand directed at the charge. [ Rintoydi ] to herself: Calcareous Invasion. ​Some small-sized red coral emerged from his hand, barely visible to the naked eye. The lightning ball charge touched his hand, and suddenly, the ball began to be covered by coral reefs—coral over coral, and coral clinging to coral—ascending at an accelerating rate to cover the lightning charge completely, turning into a ball of coral reefs. No change in expression appeared on Yonsharin's face; rather, during this, she raised her star to the right and directed it toward Rintoydi's neck. Her speed surpassed the latter's eye from seeing it directed at him until the shining star's blade rubbed against the skin of his neck, causing blood to rush out, making his neck a fountain from which blood flowed. Then, Rintoydi moved away, removing his hand from the lightning charge that had turned into coral. Yonsharin also removed her hand so that the ball covered in coral remained in the middle. Seconds later, the coral scattered around as the glowing lightning ball scattered, both disappearing within minutes. Yonsharin rose upward again, extended her feet, and lunged toward Rintoydi, embedding him into the ground with the sound of a tremor. Yonsharin moved away from above his body, standing beside him.